WHERE IT HAPPENS
SPOTLIGHT ON YOUR SOCIETY
AUTHOR Monalisa Tailor, MD
“I
n the Room Where it Happens…”
Aaron Burr sings this showstop-
per in the musical, Hamilton.
Spoiler alert, but at this point
in the musical, Burr feels out of
place, like his voice is not being
heard with our new government,
and he just wants to be part of the conversa-
tion.
As physicians, we can sympathize with Burr. We, too, want to
be in the room where it happens, whether that room is with our
hospital administrators, insurance companies or our legislators.
Finding the time during our business day to meet with our hospital
administrators or our insurance companies is nearly impossible
between our patient appointments and procedures. However, our
legislators are more accessible since we are their constituents, and
we are caring for patients, who are also their constituents. I saw
Louisville Metro Council President David James recently who
echoed these sentiments. He completed our Wear the White Coat
Program in 2018 and continues to be in awe of what we do on a
daily basis. They want to hear from us.
For background, we have two sets of legislators whom we can see
or contact day-to-day. We have our Metro Council members who
are members of our local legislative body, who help create the laws
and regulations for our city. There are 26 members total. On the
state level, we have our State Representatives and our State Senators.
They meet every year for sessions between January-April, serving a
long session of 60 days in even-numbered years and a short session
of 30 days in odd-numbered years. Concurrently, they maintain
their day jobs and maintain their family responsibilities during the
session. Their constant juggling acts are akin to our daily endeavors.
Our legislators want to hear from us. Your Greater Louisville
Medical Society helps connect you to these legislators and helps
you better inform them of health-related bills that would benefit
patients and physicians. From our Wear the White Coat Experi-
ence to our annual Legislative Reception, we can be in the room
where it happens, too. Metro Council members like David James,
Jessica Green and Paula McCraney have participated in our Wear
the White Coat Experience. Recently, State Representatives Attica
Scott and Nima Kulkarni attended our Legislative Reception. These
events provide a unique opportunity to share our perspective on
health-related matters. From interactions at these events, we have
shared what could help us do better by our patients. Thanks to
these efforts, we have seen bills like the recent smoking ban on
school campuses, the prior authorization bill and the opportunity
for patients to access smoking cessation multiple times pass during
the legislative sessions. These initiatives have made a difference,
and have expanded opportunities for helping our patients. Most
importantly, our legislators have a “point person” for questions
and discussion of healthcare-related issues. They all hold different
day jobs, and may have limited knowledge and experience when it
comes to health care. I have offered my contact information to both
Rep. Scott and Rep. Kulkarni to assist when they need information.
We do not have to feel left out of the conversation. We do get to
be in the room where it happens and have our voice heard. In the
end, we can be an advisor like Alexander Hamilton - because who
wants to be like Aaron Burr, anyway?
Dr. Tailor is an internal medicine physician at Norton Community Medical Associates:
Barret. She is the President-Elect for GLMS.
DECEMBER 2019
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